Articles

Alternative investments have moved from passion projects to deliberate portfolio sleeves. Fine wine, real estate, watches, cars, and art can add resilience because their value is driven by scarcity, cash flows, and cultural demand—not only earnings. But diversification isn’t automatic: liquidity, price discovery, provenance, and carrying costs decide outcomes. Here’s a practical framework to compare each asset and build a disciplined alternatives allocation. Plus, the common

Direct allocations are a privilege, not a strategy. This article explains the wine secondary market—its centuries-old roots, how auctions and digital platforms shape price discovery, and why macro cycles create buying windows.

The investment truth: hierarchy beats scarcity Production is large; status is larger This is where wine investment enters the story, not as an add-on, but as the logical conclusion. Many people assume the top Bordeaux wines are expensive because they are rare. Compared to Burgundy’s microscopic production, Bordeaux First Growths are not “rare” in the usual sense. Their grand vin volumes are large enough to supply the world consistently. Consider the production reality often

A list that became a regime The most powerful financial tools don’t always look like finance. Sometimes they look like a simple list. The 1855 Classification is often presented as a dusty historical artefact, a relic from a vanished world of emperors, carriages, and sealed letters. But in the reality of the fine-wine market , it functions more like infrastructure: a durable system that compresses complexity into something instantly readable. And when a market can read somethi

Mentzelopoulos & Château Margaux: A Contrarian Blueprint for Wine Investment.

1977: A Contrarian Purchase in a Depressed Bordeaux Market   In 1977, André Mentzelopoulos bought Château Margaux . Love at first sight, pure madness, or a visionary acquisition? At the time, Bordeaux was limping out of a double crisis: economic and qualitative. The great classified growths had fallen out of fashion, investors had turned their attention elsewhere, and many owners simply no longer had the means to invest in their vineyards and cellars.   Mentzelopoulos did wha

I've had the privilege of working with high-net-worth clients for over twenty years, and one conversation pattern repeats itself with remarkable consistency. We'll be discussing portfolio allocation - often after reviewing their existing positions in equities, bonds, property, perhaps some hedge fund exposure or private equity - and inevitably, someone asks: "What about wine? Is that actually a serious investment, or just something collectors tell themselves to justify spendi

After two decades navigating Burgundy's allocation systems, I've witnessed firsthand how access separates sophisticated wine investment from hopeful speculation. The question I hear most frequently from prospective clients isn't about returns or storage - it's simpler and more fundamental: "How do I actually access the wines you're describing?" It's the right question. Because without allocation access, wine investment becomes a game of chasing secondary market premiums rathe

"How long should I hold these wines?" It's the question every serious wine investor asks eventually. Usually during initial consultations when enthusiasm meets reality: wine investment demands patience measuring in years, sometimes decades. The question deserves better than the generic "5-10 years" answer most platforms and advisors provide. Through continuous monitoring of market cycles, release patterns, and price behaviours, I’ve developed a clear perspective on holding pe

If you've been monitoring the fine wine market over the past three years, you've witnessed something remarkable: a correction that has fundamentally reset valuations to levels unseen since pre-2020. For those familiar with investment cycles, this pattern is both predictable and profoundly opportune. The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 - the industry's benchmark index - has fallen 26.6% from its September 2022 peak. Burgundy, the market's most prestigious segment, corrected even more sha

Lalou Bize-Leroy transformed Burgundy from heritage to high performance. Her wines from Domaine Leroy and Domaine d’Auvenay, are now among the world’s most coveted assets. Discover how her philosophy of purity and patience reshaped both fine wine and the modern landscape of wine investment.

LVMH’s Wines & Spirits Revival: Heritage as Strategic Anchor When this week LVMH reported its third-quarter 2025 results, shares surged +12-13 % and the luxury sector rallied broadly. The group posted 1 % organic growth (≈ €18.3 b for Q3), modest but meaningful in a climate of uncertainty. Among the divisions, Wines & Spirits managed to inch into growth (+1 %) for the quarter, after years of pressure. The increase is not dramatic, but symbolic it suggests that the long-dorman

From the Bellevue Hotel in Cogne to the cellars of Monforte d’Alba, Marc Lafleur explores Giacomo Conterno’s Monfortino Riserva, a monument of faith, patience, and enduring value in fine-wine investment.

Introduction – Market context and the value of time Much has been said lately about Bordeaux first growths now trading below their En...

To imagine a world without wine is to envision a world that is not merely different but profoundly hollow. Wine is more than a mere drink...

Wine stands at a fascinating crossroads between collecting and investing. This duality raises the question: can wine truly be classified as just one or the other?

Not long ago, the fine wine market felt like it was riding an endless wave of growth, but how quickly we forget...

The Role and Limitations of Wine Critics In the world of wine, critics and scores wield significant influence, shaping perceptions and...

Burgundy, a world of nuances From Gevrey-Chambertin to Puligny-Montrachet, Burgundy has built its myth by producing wines that express...

The storage dilemna Investing in wine is rarely a compulsive decision. Just like the acquisition of a property, the decision to invest in...